Style Mirrored in the theme of As I Lay Dying :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Style Mirrored in the theme of As I Lay Dying William Faulkner in his book As I Lay Dying communicates the central theme of Independence to show his style of writing; Point of view. In As I lay Dying the theme is independence; of the family, of each character. Each of the characters independence is devised of their isolation and their individuality. In each characters chapter its their points of view, either if they are reliable or not, he shows what they are and converts it through the characters words and then to us. There are three passages in sequential order which show true isolation through their points of view are; Cora, Addie, Whitfield. These three characters have conflicts relation to one another, but each of their chapters they inform us more, while the other characters are oblivious to what really happened. In the chapter of Cora (the wife of Tull, a religious woman in the area, who disapproves of Addie) she spends the finals hours of Addie’s life with her. There was a flashback to when they were having a conversation of religion, how Addie was judging rather then leaving it up to God. Addie was vain and proud of it, and she realized that Jewel was her favorite and most appreciative. That Jewel is her God â€Å"He is my cross and he will be my salvation.† Cora is independent to this family; she has nothing in common but their location. They Bundren family is not religious compared to Cora, Cora seems as a missionary trying to convert this family into believers. But even thought The Cora and the family don’t see eye-to-eye, she thinks that she needs to be there to explain religion.

Business Strategy and the Importance of Data-Driven Decision Making Essay

Good decision making is arguably the most important skill a successful manager can possess, but the ability to make intelligent decisions on an on-going basis requires not only intuition and experience, but also the right data. In fact, Garrison, Noreen, and Brewer (2012) identify intelligent, data-driven decision making as a business leader’s most basic managerial skill. That basic skill plays a critical role in helping a manager formulate and execute a successful business strategy. Manager’s need access to relevant historical data and projections to make intelligent, fact based decisions. The use of business intelligence and analytics has become the cornerstone of strategy formulation and execution across corporations around the globe. Access to relevant data is a necessity in not only formulating a business strategy, but in monitoring the execution of that strategy. The use of data for effective decision making is not a new concept, but since the introduction of the balanced scorecard by Robert Kaplan and David Norton in 1996, the use of data to support decision making has taken off. In addition, the adoption of enabling technologies has accelerated the use of data-driven decision making. Whether it’s an operations manager monitoring key operational indicators or a sales manager forecasting sales revenue, appropriate data and the technologies which enable its most effective use, are key necessities in making intelligent and timely decisions. Formulating and executing a business strategy is a basic requirement for just about any business, but making good decisions is the difference between a successful business and one that goes bankrupt. The key to making those intelligent decisions that aid in the formulation and execution of a successful business strategy is the use of data to support those decisions. As an encore to their balanced scorecard concept, Robert Kaplan and David Norton (2001) describe how to successfully execute a business strategy by creating an organization where everyone is focused on strategy. At the heart of their approach was their original balanced scorecard which provides a summary of relevant data for managers. In their next book, they expand their original concept by making strategy a priority for everyone involved in the organization (2001). Although, Kaplan and Norton focused on business strategy, what they really succeeded in doing was putting data at the heart of every business process in every organization that adopted their approach. They enabled data-driven decision making as a by-product of designing a successful mechanism for executing business strategy. Kaplan and Norton understood that having access to relevant data was the key to successful decision making. Since Kaplan and Norton, the use of data-driven decision making has expanded. Today, aggregating, displaying, and analyzing data is referred to as business intelligence and analytics. Laursen and Thorlund (2010) contend that the deployment of business analytics and a business’ strategy are tightly linked. Analysis of important data sources and methods are a critical component of overall strategy development and decision making (2010). Today, successful business leaders not only recognize the use of data to make effective decisions, but they demand it. Although companies are capitalizing on the use of business intelligence and analytics today, it’s clear the use of data as a tool for decision making had its roots in Kaplan and Norton’s balanced scorecard (1996). The balanced scorecard concept was originally proposed by Kaplan and Norton (1996) as a way to measure a company’s performance and execute the company strategy. It was an improvement on the traditional method of using financial systems to track performance (1996). Kaplan and Norton’s balanced scorecard became the norm for not only measuring performance, but also as the preferred method for executing business strategy (1996). Although the use of data was nothing new in business, the balanced scorecard gave way to an era of using data for making critical business decisions. I have been involved in business meetings for a number of years with business leaders from operations managers to senior executives. Each meeting from operations reviews to performance or strategy always includes the review of some form of scorecard with critical business data. Simply adopting the balanced scorecard approach is not sufficient though. Managers must choose a method for implementing the approach that is efficient and gets the right data to the right people when they need it; the use of business intelligence can accomplish this goal (Paladino, 2008). Businesses have recognized the value of critical business intelligence, but some have taken the approach a step further. The most successful companies have adopted helpful business intelligence technologies available today to optimize the use of the balanced scorecard approach. Leading business intelligence tools on the market optimize the use of data for intelligent decision making by taking volumes of data and making it easy to access, organize, and augment to quickly fit the needs of the business. These enabling technologies allow a company to efficiently use data to formulate and execute a sound business strategy. Business Intelligence offerings from SAP, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft represent more than half of the tools available in the market and are often tailored to specific industries (Henschen, 2012). For example, iLog is a business rule management system product from IBM that enables an insurance company to build a list of business rules that make a decision on whether or not an individual is approved for coverage based on user input (IBM ILOG, 2009). An individual enters all pertinent information into a form on the insurance company’s web site (powered by the ILOG product), and a decision based on coverage is immediately provided. An insurance company whose business strategy outlines process and operational optimization and improving customer acquisition is better positioned to execute that strategy with such a product. ILOG however is geared toward a more specific purpose. The more common business intelligence technologies take volumes of company and market data and organize it in such a way that provides a summary of valued business indicators. These technologies enable managers to make more informed decisions by having the right data readily available. Intelligent decision making is a complex process that requires a combination of experience and intuition, but most importantly, the use of the right supporting data. The formulation and execution of a successful business strategy requires managers to make a number of intelligent decisions. Having access to relevant data to make those intelligent decisions is the key to success. Integrating the balanced scorecard into the heart of a business’ management system as outlined by Kaplan and Norton (2001) is, in fact, a way to integrate data into every business process within an organization. More recent business intelligence and analytics technologies have made adopting these methodologies much easier for businesses. Managers are finding that an investment in enabling technologies yields significant financial results through efficiency and optimization. There is a common element that exists within any organization that has developed and executed a sound business strategy. Within each business, you will find a manager or team of business leaders who recognized and implemented the use of data to drive their decision making. References Garrison, R. H., Noreen, E. W., & Brewer, P. C. (2012). Managerial Accounting (14th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions. Henschen, D. (2012). Advanced analytics. InformationWeek, (1351), 7-15. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1220681098?accountid=7083 IBM ILOG Solutions for Insurance. (2009, July). IBM Software Group Solution Brief. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from http://www-304.ibm.com/easyaccess/fileserve?contentid=193615 Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School, 1996. Print. Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The Strategy-Focused Organization: How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Laursen, G. H., & Thorlund, J. (2010). Business Analytics for Managers: Taking Business Intelligence Beyond Reporting. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Paladino, B., & Williams, N. (2008). Moving strategy forward: Merging the balanced scorecard and business intelligence. Business Performance Management Magazine, 6(2), 12-17. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218349922?accountid=7083

I Would You Recommend This Production Of What The Adult...

Would you recommend this production for others to see? Yes I would. As a play, Bull presents a true picture of what the adult world is like. The entire play is set up in a way that it relates to the deep inward feelings of the audience. It shows how the weak are preyed on by the strong, and the director and the actors showcase exactly how bullying in the adult world and the workplace takes place. The fact that it presents a scenario that anyone can relate to – as a bully or a victim – makes it very emotional. As such, its relatable theme makes it a play that everyone would like love to watch, despite the fact that it may bring out contrasting reactions from different personalities. Overall reaction to the show: The play is rather extraordinary; brilliant writing by Mike Bartlett, and amazing directing and performances by the cast as well. The storyline has some great twists and turns that keeps the audience excited, and when a particular scenario progresses into a state that one really did not expect, it heightens the excitement, thereby resulting in quite the thrill. Why do you feel that this is an accurate evaluation of the production you saw? Justify your reaction: It exposes some aspects that the society would rather shy away from and those things that people generally do not feel comfortable to face or discuss. Bullying is part of everyday life, but people deny and probably do not know how to deal with it. This is more so the situation in the adult world. The playwrightShow MoreRelatedGeneral Classifications For Food : Protein, Fat, And Carbohydrate1456 Words   |  6 Pages There are 3 general classifications for food: protein, fat, and carbohydrate. This article is about protein. We ll talk about what it is, why you need it, how to get it, and how much you need in order to be healthy. Why We Need Protein Before we get into the details of what protein is, let s get motivated by appreciating what protein does. Our bodies use protein to build just about everything. Skin, hair, muscles, organs, even the hemoglobin in your blood is made of protein. And the list goesRead MoreMarketing Research Project Proposal1038 Words   |  5 PagesMarketing Research Project Proposal I proposed to do my final course project on market research on service quality at Starbucks Coffee restaurants. Background on Company Beginning in 1971 with only one shop in Settle’s historic Pike Place Market for coffee and tea, Starbucks has managed to become one of the most successful companies in the world. It has become number one in the coffee industry. As of June 2012 Starbucks owns 19,763 coffee shops in 59 countries which includes 12,848 in theRead MoreSave A Child From A Life Threatening Disease1339 Words   |  6 Pages If you had the option to save a child from a life-threatening disease, could you imagine choosing not to do so? Every year thousands of parents choose not to vaccinate their children from diseases like polio, whooping cough, and other life-threatening diseases. One simple decision to not vaccinate a child runs the risk of potentially infecting other children that are too young to receive the vaccination yet. It is because of this potential danger that I am in favor of the mandation of childhoodRead MoreIce Gum : A Brand Of None Other Than Wrigley1374 Words   |  6 Pagesmill ions of brands and products in this world, but when thinking of a product I use almost on a daily basis, that would be Orbit chewing gum. Orbit Gum is a brand of none other than Wrigley. William Wrigley, was born in Philadelphia and later moved to Chicago (Orbit). In Chicago, he began to sell items such as soap and baking powder. However, he soon realized that the gum he was giving away to customers was more popular than the items themselves (Orbit). This helped him launch his business. HeRead MoreCasa Valentina By Harvey Fierstein1628 Words   |  7 PagesHarvey Fierstein. The play certainly was not what I expected once I saw it live. Before going to see it and writing this paper, I decided to do some research on both of the plays to see if I could get a better understanding of them. As a result, I decided on Casa Valentina because it was about a topic that I was unfamiliar with. The play is set in the early 1960s when men would go to the Catskill Mountains and escape. But esc ape what? In this play, they would escape being men. Seeing the photographicRead MoreFactors Affecting The Human Body1687 Words   |  7 Pagesto eat in order to be healthy. Diets also became prevalent in this time period and many of the original diet concepts still exist today. Commercials for products promising instant results have been present and provocative to the minds of Americans for decades. In the current 21st century, society has seemingly not improved at all when it comes to giving a clear and factual message to all pertaining to how the human body works and what nutrients we actually need to intake in order to be â€Å"healthy†Read MoreIs Vegetarianism Really A Healthy Diet?1652 Words   |  7 Pagesrealizing what harm can bring the meat that people eat. According to the article Preface to Are Meat-Based Diets Bad for the Planet? by Ed. Amy Francis, â€Å"Those who believe that vegetarianism has a positive effect on the environment argue that the massive produ ction of animal products for human consumption can lead to land degradation, water and air pollution, and even a change in climate. Academic research indicates that these detrimental effects accrue as we continue producing meat products.† I totallyRead MoreCase Study : Jasper, Summer And Dak1502 Words   |  7 Pagesand young adult consumers. As the manager of The Trio, it is my duty to protect the intellectual property of the group. Such a responsibility will involve researching into the potential solutions of copyright laws and creative common licences, within the field of fashion. My research will not only be focused in relevance to New Zealand but will also extend to overseas markets as The Trios creative product is set to be released worldwide. With my collected information, I will then recommend a justifiedRead MoreGood or Bad Customer Service Essay1102 Words   |  5 Pagesall are important to the restaurant business. If you take a close look at what separates the mos t successful restaurants from the less successful, you will find that all excel on these parameters. In successful organizations, the voice of the customer drives operations. In this paper, I am presenting two different personal customers service encounters, one at McDonalds, and the other one at Tony Romas. MCDONALDS Fast Food, Slow Service: I have been a customer of McDonalds for the past 20Read MorePsychology: Questions on Cognitive Development1557 Words   |  7 Pagesnecessary for communication _A___ 3. Piaget called the incorporation of new objects into existing knowledge: a. assimilation b. object permanence c. conservation d. formal operations _D___ 4. For Jean Piaget, children deal with and adjust to the world through twin processes he called: a. conservation and revisionism b. motor learning and cognitive learning c. egocentric thinking and magical thinking d. assimilation and accommodation _B___ 5. Social and cognitive influences on how we interpret